shapeshifter

You are highly resourceful and able to adapt to any situation you find yourself in

shapeshifter

As a shapeshifter, you are highly resourceful and able to adapt to any situation you find yourself in. You have a wealth of skills, knowledge, and talents that serve you well in a variety of roles, and you love to step up to the challenge of new opportunities. 

You prefer to operate as a jack of all trades, dipping your toes in many different arenas and finding that you have a natural ability to fill any role that may be needed. In a teamwork environment, you are invaluable, easily shifting into new roles as needs arise and excelling in whatever you take on. Because you can assimilate yourself into different roles, you have insight into what others need and what their jobs entail. In a collaborative setting, you understand the value that different roles bring to the team as well as unique challenges they might experience. You can be a leader, a mediator, a strong teammember, or any other position and find yourself excelling in all of them, sometimes filling many different roles in the same work day. 

Those around you find your ability to shake things up admirable, be it a new wardrobe or a new role that seems like it would have been difficult for you to step into. You are full of surprises and keep things interesting, and you see no need to box yourself up into one category. 

Your Core Beliefs:

As a shapeshifter, you believe that flexibility is important. You know that being stuck in one mindset or unable to adapt can leave you in the dust, and you are on top of things to ensure that you keep up your momentum—you do not back down from what each new moment asks of you. You value your ability to meet the needs of others, and your inherent ability to work well with others by seeing what they need or want and filling that role. 

You fear not knowing who you really are, being misunderstood by others, and becoming something you do not wish to be. Fear is a healthy emotion that alerts us when it is time to get prepared. Fear alerts us to the fact that something needs assessing.  When you live in the space of fear it can become paralyzing and confusing. The feelings of anxiety and overwhelm can present themselves as guarded and tense. The opportunity is to embrace the fear as your friend. Shift the shallow breath to a deep breath and ask yourself, “Is this fear justified?” If so, “What do you need to prepare for?” It is also an opportunity to shift your story. Are you telling the story of adaptability vs instability, helpfulness vs manipulation, or empowered by your abilities vs lost in the many roles you can take on?

Invitation:

So, before you read the shadow side, I invite you to see this as an opportunity for growth. Feedback is often not your friend as you may feel that others misinterpret your intentions. Your intentions are pure, yet they can create discord in your collaboration.

Your ability to shift into new roles seamlessly and call upon different aspects of your personality to suit you in these roles is impressive, but when others do not understand the nature of the shapeshifter, they may misinterpret your shifting as disingenuous or even conniving. It is important to own this gift and not shy away from telling people when you are in a mode they may not recognize. If one day you are outgoing and bubbly in the role of the networking social butterfly, then the next you are all business in the role of the leader, there is nothing wrong with explaining your goals for the day and why the shift in behavior is taking place. 

When the shapeshifter is not serving you to be your best, you may feel yourself shifting between different roles to the point that you begin to worry if you actually own any of them. You may feel lost in the shapeshifter, and become distressed if you try to pin yourself down to one particular category. Know that your shapeshifting does not mean you are personally lacking, but rather that you have such an abundance of talents that you are too valuable to put in just one box. 

Because you are highly adaptable, you shift between different mindsets as easily as you shift between roles. This ability to see things from different points of view can confuse your coworkers and they may think that you are unable to make up your mind. This is not true, your mind is simply multi-faceted and prone to shifting when you enter a new environment as you see different needs and bring different concerns into the discussion. It can be helpful to set aside time for yourself to reflect on major decisions in a neutral space where nothing is immediately expected of you, so that you can mull over the many different opinions you hold in order to make the best choice. 

Life is not always easy for the shapeshifter. You wear many hats and you wear them well, but this can make it difficult to know yourself and where you actually want to be. It can sometimes feel like your many roles own you rather than feeling like you own the roles. You can be exhausted by the constant shifts within yourself that take place in order to fulfil your responsibilities. It can be stressful when others see one side of you and believe this is who you will always be. As you shift into different roles you may be unable to access all of them at once, and it can be frustrating when others do not understand the nature of the shapeshifter and why you are behaving differently than they expect.

Shapeshifters make good actors, assistants, teammates, managers, diplomats, and politicians. 

Examples

  • Nympadora Tonks in the Harry Potter series

  • Zeus in Greek Mythology

  • Mystique in X-Men

Life’s Lesson Questions:

  • Am I changing aspects of myself to serve my goals or simply to be liked?
  • Do I have the energy to step into a new role right now?
  • How can I establish boundaries that allow me to fill one role without feeling pulled in other directions before I am ready?
  • Have I made my intentions clear so that others understand this shift in my behavior?